Select Rogers, Bell, and Telus stores remain open in Ontario as government deems them ‘essential’

Select Rogers, Bell and Telus stores will remain open in Ontario after they have been deemed ‘essential’ by the government amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

After the Ontario government announced that all non-essential businesses would close on March 24th, and there was some uncertainty about which services qualified to remain open.

The government has noted that “businesses providing telecommunications services (phone, internet, radio, cell phones etc.) as well as support facilities such as call centres necessary for their operation and delivery,” will remain open.

Telus and its flanker brands, Koodo and Public Mobile, have closed their mall locations, but 10 percent of stores located outside of malls across the country will remain open to provide essential services to customers.

Rogers and its flanker brands, Fido and chatr, have also temporarily closed most stores, but 93 locations will remain open across the country to provide essential services.

Bell and its flanker brands, Virgin Mobile and Lucky Mobile, have also closed most stores but some locations will remain open.

It should be noted that although Shaw previously announced that it would temporarily close all of its retail locations, including its Freedom Mobile stores, the carrier has since reopened select locations to serve customers as needed. This includes 14 retail stores and select dealer and national stores.

Customers can find a list of open locations in Ontario on each of the carriers’ websites, along with details about the current essential services that are being provided.

Update 25/03/20 1:50pm ET: The article was updated to clarify that not all Freedom Mobile locations are closed.